Trade Union

Act,1926
 INTRODUCTION
● The Trade Union Act of 1926 consists of total five chapters.
● The Act consists of a total of 33 chapters.
● The Act was passed in the year 1926 and was brought to effect from 1927.
● The Act extends to whole of the India and applies to all those labour unions
and employer associations which aim at effectively regularize the employer
and worker relationship.
● The main objective of the Act is to provide effective mechanism for
registration, regulation, benefits and protection of trade unions in the
territory of India.
 History of trade unionism in India
● In India, trade unions are the result of large scale industrial development and they did not grew out
of any of the existing institutions present in the society.
● The Bombay Mill-Hands Association was the first labour association of India and it was founded by
N.M. Lokhande in 1890.
● Madras Labour Union is the first properly registered trade-union founded by B.P. Wadia in the year
1918.
● The first trade union federation of India is All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), it was formed in
the year 1920 after the International Labour Organization expressed its concern about the absence
of any trade union in the country which was not under the control and influence of political parties in
the country.
● Many commissions formed during the colonial period emphasized on the formation of trade unions
in India for eg. The Royal Commission on labour or Whitley commission on labour which was set up
in the year 1929-30 recommended that the problems created by modern industrialization in India are
similar to the problems it created elsewhere in the world and the only solution left is the formation of
strong trade unions to alleviate the labours from their miserable condition and exploitation.
 Development of trade union law in India
● Labour legislation in India aims at establishment of social justice in the country.
● The growth of labour legislation in India has been accelerated by external and internal factors.
Formation of International Labour Organisation is an example of external factors and internal factors
includes Swaraj movement of 1921-24, the royal commission on labour also paved the way for
various labour laws and also encouraged the framers of the constitution to incorporate such laws in
the constitution which will benefit the labourers. Under the constitution, labour is the subject of the
concurrent list and both center and state can make laws related to the subject.
● Different labour laws in country are:
➔ Apprentices Act, 1961
➔ Contract labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970
➔ Employees’ provident funds and misc. Provision Act, 1952
➔ Factories Act, 1948
➔ Minimum wages Act, 1948
➔ Trade Union Act, 1926
 Registration of trade unions in India
Section 3 to Section 14 of the Trade Union Act of 1926 contains the provisions related to registration of
trade unions in India. Section 3 to 14 states the following:

● Section 3 contains the provisions related to Appointment of Registrars of a trade union.

● Section 4 contains the provisions related to the Mode of registration of a trade union.
● Section 5 contains the provisions related to Application for registration of a trade union.
● Section 6 contains the provisions related to Provisions to be contained in the rules of a trade union.
● Section 7 contains the provisions related to Power to call for further particulars and to require
alternations of names of a trade union.
● Section 8 contains the provisions related to Registration of a trade union.
● Section 9 contains the provisions related to Certificate of registration for a trade union.
● Section 10 contains the provisions related to Cancellation of registration of a trade union.
● Section 11 contains the provisions related to Appeal.
● Section 12 contains the provisions related to Registered office.
● Section 13 contains the provisions related to Incorporation of registered trade union.
● Section 14 contains the provisions related to Certain Acts which do not to apply to registered trade
unions.
 Rights and liabilities of Registered Trade Unions
Section 15 to Section 28 of the Trade Union Act of 1926 talks about the rights and liabilities of a registered trade union. The
Section 15 to 28 of the Act are as follows:
● Section 15 contains the provisions related to Objects on which general funds may be spent.
● Section 16 contains the provisions related to Constitution of a separate fund for political purposes.
● Section 17 contains the provisions related to Criminal Conspiracy in trade disputes.
● Section 18 contains the provisions related to Immunity from civil suit in certain cases.
● Section 19 contains the provisions related to Enforceability of agreements.
● Section 20 contains the provisions related to Right to inspect books of trade unions.
● Section 21 contains the provisions related to Rights of minors to membership of trade unions.
● Section 21A contains the provisions related to Disqualifications of office-bearers of trade unions.
● Section 22 contains the provisions related to Proportion of office-bearers to be connected with the industry.
● Section 23 contains the provisions related to change of name.
● Section 24 contains the provisions related to Amalgamation of trade unions.
● Section 25 contains the provisions related to Notice of change of name or amalgamation.
● Section 26 contains the provisions related to Effects of change of name and of amalgamation.
● Section 27 contains the provisions related to Dissolution of a trade union.
● Section 28 contains the provisions related to Returns.
 Regulations
Regulations applicable on trade union are contained in Chapter 4 from Section 29
to Section 30 of the Trade Union Act of 1926.

● Section 29 of the Act contains the provisions relating to Power to make

regulations.
● Section 30 of the Act contains the provisions relating to Publication of
Regulations which are made for the trade union.
 Penalties And Procedure
Section 31 to Section 33 in Chapter 5 of the Trade Union Act,1926 contains the
provisions related to imposition of penalty on the trade union and the procedure of
such imposition.
● Section 31 contains the provisions related to Failure on part of trade union to
submit returns.
● Section 32 contains the provisions related to Supplying false information
regarding trade unions.
● Section 33 contains the provisions related to Cognizance of offences.
 Collective Bargaining and Trade Disputes
Collective bargaining
● When an organized body negotiates with the employer and fixes the terms of employment by means
of bargaining is known as Collective Bargaining. The essential element of Collective Bargaining is
that it is between interested parties and not from outside parties.
● International labour organization in its manual in the year 1960 defined the meaning of collective
bargaining as:
“Negotiations about working conditions and terms of employment between an employer, a group of
employees or one or more employers organization on the other, with a view to reaching an
agreement.”

Trade Disputes
Section 8 of the Industrial Relations Act 1990 define trade dispute, according to the Act, industrial dispute
refers to any dispute which arises between the employers and the workers and it is usually in connection
with any one of the following:
● employment or non-employment,
● the terms or conditions of the employment
● Something which affects the employment of any person.
 Essential conditions for collective bargaining
● Favourable political and social climate
● Trade union
● Problem solving attitude
● Continuous dialogue

Purposes of collective bargaining

● Opportunity for workers to voice demands.
● Betterment of employer employee relationship.
● Peaceful atmosphere to carry on trade
 Agreements for collective bargaining
In India, three kinds of agreements are prevalent for collective bargaining. They
are as follows:
● Bipartite agreement
● Settlements
● Consent awards
Thank you